Before I give advice, whats ur actual budget? I tried the Godox TT685II-C Flash for Canon but the recycle time on AA batteries was honestly disappointing for fast shots. If ur realy tight on cash, there's the Neewer NW670 TTL Flash, but it felt kinda flimsy for events. I always worry about cheap gear failing mid-event... it’s a wierd balance between price and reliability, right?

> I’m looking for an external flash that offers solid E-TTL compatibility and quick recycle times so I don't miss any shots. yo, I feel u on this! honestly, the built-in flash on the 90D is basically just there for emergencies... it really doesnt do that beast of a camera justice. I've been shooting with a 90D for a while now, mostly doing indoor events and some local gig stuff, so I totally get the struggle with recycle times and missing those key moments. For your situation, I would suggest looking into the Godox V1-C Flash for Canon. In my experience, it's lowkey one of the best investments I ever made for my kit. The round head gives a much more natural light falloff than the old-school square ones, which is huge for indoor shots. But the REAL winner is the Li-ion battery. Basically, it recycles in like 1.5 seconds at full power. You aren't gonna be fumbling with AA batteries mid-event which is a huge relief tbh. I also use the Godox V860III-C Speedlite for Canon as a backup. It's a bit cheaper and still has that awesome lithium battery. Regarding HSS on the 90D, both these Godox units play really nice with it. I've pushed mine to 1/4000s for outdoor fill light and it works like a charm, tho you gotta be careful because it does drain the juice way faster when ur cranking it that high. I used to be a Canon purist and swore by the Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT, and yeah, it's built like a tank. But it's soooo expensive. If youre doing this professionally and need weather-sealing, the Canon might give u that extra peace of mind, but for the price vs performance balance? Godox is killing it. Just make sure to get the "C" versions so the E-TTL works right. Anyway... hope that helps! Good luck with the events!! 👍

Man I wish I found this thread sooner. Would have saved me so much hassle.

I've been looking into this a lot lately too and it really feels like the market is split between paying for the name and paying for the tech. If you're doing events with a 90D you really need to think about the ecosystem you're buying into because once you start with one brand you're basically stuck there lol. * **Go with Westcott** if you want something that's super robust and has a really intuitive interface for when you're in a rush.
* **Phottix** is another one that's really worth looking at for solid build quality that doesn't feel like cheap plastic.
* **Stick with the name brand** if you're worried about future firmware updates breaking your E-TTL support. Honestly just make sure whatever brand you pick has a good lithium-ion battery system. I mean... AAs are fine for occasional use but for actual events they're just sooo slow to recycle and it's really frustrating when you miss a shot because of it. Just pick a brand with a strong ecosystem and you'll be set for the long run.

Just sharing my experience: I went through this last year! I compared Godox V1-C Flash for Canon vs Yongnuo YN685 II Speedlite for Canon. - Godox: Lithium battery means crazy fast recycle times.
- Yongnuo: Cheaper, but way slower on AAs. Honestly, I'm realy satisfied with how the Godox HSS works for indoor stuff... I never miss shots now!! What do u think? 👍